Our Last Trip (June 15-27)
So, we just got back from Haiti this past Thursday after a couple of weeks being down there. This trip was great in so many ways. We took a team down for the first week and then Jess and I stayed for an extra week to try and get some things accomplished that we have needed to do.
Our first week, we spent our mornings with Pastor Herold’s Church (Christian Church of Four A Chaux) doing a VBS. It is so different being down at the beach where this church is located. Many of the children there are from some of the poorest families in Haiti. We have been told it is good for many of these children to receive 5 meals per week…PER WEEK. It is both sad and heartwarming to feed these children a meal of rice and beans with chicken every afternoon. It is great to see how thankful they are and how much they enjoy this simple meal. It is heartbreaking to see even the youngest of these children devour the meals at a pace that would make competitive eaters jealous. They understand how scarce food is even at a young age, and they know they must eat when they can. This is so hard to see. It is so hard to think about and try to comprehend how much many of these kids will struggle in their lives. But we were able to give them a little food, and we were able to share the Gospel to them through a translator that was with us…
Almost 30 children made the decision to accept Christ this week! We understand that some of this might have been lost in translation, but we have a church and a pastor who will follow up with each of these children and help them understand what it means to be saved! In the midst of seeing suffering and poverty, we must realize that the most important and powerful thing we have is the Gospel, the Good News of the love of Jesus Christ! Oh that we would never forget that. Our power comes from the source of all power! He can do anything, and He has chosen to use us, He has chosen to give us His power to accomplish things we could never imagine. I was reminded of this in the midst of seeing something that I wish I never had to see again…Children in poverty, children without food. And GOD showed Himself to be powerful in the midst of this.
In my next post, I will tell you guys more about what is going on at the orphanage and how the kids are doing. I will share with you guys some things that we are really trying to accomplish, and some real needs that we have. But that is for another time, and an upcoming post. Today, this is the point…
GOD has chosen to use us!
He has chosen to use me and He has chosen to use you to be His body on this earth. In the midst of His creation, in the midst of the people that He so desperately loves and wants, He has chosen us to be His instrument! It is incredible that GOD chose to use this trip, and this idea of poverty to show me that. But it is so clear. I just looked at these children who had nothing, and it hit me that GOD loves them completely, He loves them perfectly, just like He loves me. If I could just get that in my head for the rest of my life, for everyone I come into contact. Because everyone that I see is a child who is loved by GOD. Let’s try to get this in our minds (me included):
GOD has chosen us as His sons and daughters to take His Word and His love to the world!
And if He has chosen us, and He is all powerful, then we are fully equipped to do things we could never imagine. Let’s get to it. Let’s start doing things that only GOD could do through us! After all, everyone we see, everyone we talk to, and everyone we come into contact with was created by GOD and is love by GOD, just like you and just like me.